And so the wildfire-fueled smoke continues.
My throat is raw from coughing and my eyes are in a perpetual state of being glazed over. People probably think I've been taking advantage of Washington State's legalization of marijuana when they see me, but it's nothing nearly as fun as that.
Oh well. One of the perils of living in the tinderbox known as Central Washington.
And, speaking of where I live, Kapgar posted these questions...
- Where are you from? I was born in San Diego, California at Doctor's Hospital... which sounds like an awesome place for a soap opera. My family moved to Central Washington before I started school, and I've lived here ever since.
- What is the furthest you have lived from friends and family? My family in Southern California is the furthest away. I have friends all over the world, so "very far" there.
- How close do you live to your parents or siblings? The furthest away I have immediate family now is 15-20 minutes.
- How many states have you visited? How many have you lived in? I've lived in two (California, Washington)... and have visited all of them except Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The last new state I visited was Kansas back in 2010...
- How many countries have you visited? Lived in? I've lived in one (the USA) and have visited 47...
- Aruba (Oranjestad, Palm Beach)
- Australia (Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Uluru/Ayers Rock, Cairns)
- Austria (just a drive in-and-out)
- The Bahamas
- Belgium (Brussels)
- Canada (Vancouver, Victoria, Penticton, Ottawa, Toronto, Niagara Falls, Montreal)
- Cayman Islands (George Town, Hell)
- China (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing)
- Columbia (Cartagena)
- Costa Rica (Limón)
- Czech Republic (Prague, Karlštejn)
- Denmark (Copenhagen)
- Egypt (Cairo)
- Estonia (Tallinn)
- Fiji
- Finland (Helsinki)
- France (Paris, Éze, Villefranche, Ajaccio, Corte)
- Germany (Cologne, Hamburg, Munich, Berlin)
- Greece (Athens, Olympia, Corfu, Crete, Mykonos, Santorini)
- Iceland (Reykjavik)
- Indonesia (Bali)
- Ireland (Dublin, Wicklow, Newgrange)
- Italy (Rome, Florence, Pisa, Venice, Naples, Amalfi, Sorrento, Positano, Ravello, Santa Margherita Ligure, Portofino)
- Jamaica (Ocho Rios, Dunn's Falls)
- Japan (Tokyo, Yokohama, Fujikawa, Kobe, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka)
- Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)
- Malta (Valletta, Mdina, San Ġiljan)
- Mexico (Tijuana, Cozumel, Tulum)
- Monaco (Monaco-Monte Carlo)
- Netherlands (Amsterdam, Delft, Den Haag, Alkmaar, Maastricht)
- Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten)
- Norway (Oslo)
- Panama (Colón, Gamboa, Panama Canal)
- Poland (Warsaw)
- Portugal (Lisbon)
- Romania (Bucharest, Braşov)
- Singapore (Singapore)
- South Korea (Seoul)
- Spain (Barcelona, Madrid, Málaga, Mallorca)
- Sweden (Stockholm, Gothenburg)
- Thailand (Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai)
- Turkey (Ephesus, Istanbul)
- Tunisia (Tunis, Carthage, Sidi Bou Saïd)
- United Kingdom (London, Edinburgh, Letchworth GC, Bristol, Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, York, Nottingham, Belfast)
- United States (All of them except the three listed below)
- Vatican City (The Vatican)
- Virgin Islands (St. Thomas: Charlotte Amalie, Megans Bay)
By the end of the year, I'll have visited 50 countries.
- Where do you want to live next? That's a really tough question to answer. Right now, I don't see leaving Central Washington any time soon. But... I have contemplated living a lot of different places. I would really like to try living in a big city at some point in my life.
- Bonus: What country would you retire to if America isn't an option? Edinburgh, Scotland.
And now, back to my regularly-scheduled work-night.
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Now I want to know why you would choose to retire in Scotland. I’ve never been there, but I have no doubt it is amazing, just wondering how amazing and in what ways.
Edinburgh became my favorite place on earth the very first day I visited there. And with each subsequent visit, I fall in love with the city a little bit more. It’s absolutely beautiful, is filled with amazing and interesting people, respects the arts, has lovely summer weather, and is an all-around fascinating place to be. To retire there would be okay with me!
I totally omitted adding what states I lived in (California, Washington and Utah, which I have now updated over on my blog post).
I had a feeling your countries visited list was going to be really long. impressive to this three country hermit.
An additional comment after re-reading your post. I see you have Scotland as the country you would love to live in, but you’ve never visited it (at least I didn’t see it on your list above). What is the appeal of Scotland?
I listed Edinburgh under the U.K. – I’ve actually been there a half-dozen times, and love it more with each visit!
Ahh. I see Edinburgh under the UK heading. Thanks for the clarification.
Since your post, I’ve spent a good 4-5 hrs reading about Edinburgh. I want to go there now.
It’s a destination I really cannot recommend highly enough… especially if you’re into the arts. It’s a magical, wonderful city.
did you mean to say “boring”
I’ve never been to those three states either.
I wonder if that is common..or if statistically they are among the least visited.
North Dakota and Nebraska? Probably. But South Dakota has Mt. Rushmore, The Badlands, Sturgis, and other cool stuff that people flock to, so it’s probably getting its fair share of tourists.
Sorry you were so boring in San Diego. But at least you got to be rock-star you in so many other places! 😉
Dave, I find it ironic that I’m nowhere near as well travelled as you but I’ve been to two American states you haven’t been to (Nebraska and South Dakota).
Out of curiosity, how many Canadian provinces have you visited?
Edinburgh, Scotland is not a country. 😀
I want to retire in England. We’ll be able to visit each other more!
We could meet half-way in York! It’s a beautiful city, and the tea and biscuits are delightful!